20 Best Sci-fi / Fantasy TV Characters of 2022

We all need a place to escape to. As we enter a new year and think about the highs and lows we experienced, science fiction can be a comforting place to take ourselves where we can imagine worlds similar and vastly different from our own. 

While we are visiting these worlds we get a chance to meet characters that echo and explore different parts of our society in ways we may never have thought of before. 

Our top 20 TV characters from sci-fi and fantasy television series bought a mix of surrealism, fantasy, and some pithy jokes to the table. They allowed us to escape the world we live in and imagine what new possibilities might be out there. 

In no particular order, here are our top 20 sci-fi/fantasy characters of 2022.

1. Dream/Morpheus (The Sandman)

The life of an anthropomorphic personification is a tall order, but it’s a challenge The Sandman is willing to meet. Morpheus, aka Dream, is a character who flexes between unassuming and domineering at the same time. His imperious stare draws viewers in and we’re not sure whether we’re in for a sweet dream or a nightmare.

While he may play his cards close to the vest, it’s clear that he’s not afraid to go to bat for humanity if they come into crossfire with any of his siblings.

Additionally, as Dream reckons with his time away, he has to accept the changing power dynamics that occurred in his absence. While Dream may rule The Dreaming with an iron fist, he isn’t above being reasonable, and showing a modicum of humanity as a result.

2. Tally Craven (Motherland: Fort Salem)

While every season gave the Belleweather Unit a chance to grow and overcome obstacles, Motherland: Fort Salem Season 3 is Tally Craven’s time to shine.

Tally immediately embraces her call to serve on Motherland: Fort Salem Season 1, and over time has had to reckon with some of the darker parts of being a soldier. Her journey allows her to reconnect with her mother and even joke about her last night at home before she answered the call. 

While on the run, she starts to make use of her site with the help of Nicte Batan. Her ability to use and control her power is a tremendous asset in the fight against the camarilla, and while it makes her unique she’s also able to see the bigger picture. While she knows her sight is an asset, she can also see the benefit of giving it up to restore the first song.

3. Claudia (Interview with the Vampire)

Bailey Bass’s version of Claudia depicts a 14-year-old girl with vampire blood lust on Interview with a Vampire. 

Older than previous versions of Claudia, Bass captured the anger of a character stuck in a body that will never change with a mind that will continue to mature. She’s essentially permanently trapped in puberty, which makes the rage even more terrifying. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t moments of levity in Bass’s performance.

While permanent puberty leaves her characters prone to tantrums, her interactions with Lestat and Louis can be met with humor at times, even as her anger towards Lestat increases. Claudia’s arc sets the base for a young woman who is about to come into her own, even if fans of the series know that they shouldn’t get attached. 

4. Rhaenyra Targaryen (House of the Dragon)

Is there anything harder than living in Westeros? Now, try being a woman whose father names her heir to the Iron Throne — a decision vehemently contested by every man in the realm for two decades straight.

Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen dwells in King Viserys’s shadow while trying to stand independently and rewrite the rules for her future queendom. It’s easy to rattle off a laundry list of Rhaenyra’s flaws (ask the Hightowers) — her impulsivity and her headstrong nature immediately come to mind.

However, her positive attributes are worth noting. She subverts gender expectations and has no interest in being a “lady.” Rhaenyra takes her inheritance seriously and prepares herself to rule the Seven Kingdoms.

Despite the significant losses in her life, Rhaenyra refuses to break. When the Hightowers challenge her late father’s request by placing Aegon on the throne, Rhaenyra endeavors to fight tooth and nail for what belongs to her.

5. Max Mayfield (Stranger Things)

Max Mayfield is grieving on Stranger Things Season 4. While Max quickly became a member of The Party, the loss of her brother Billy affected her. Watching her retreat into her inner world with Kate Bush is a pain that needed to be explored with this character, but she also needed to know she wasn’t alone. 

In time, she does warm up to her friends again, and as they attempt to save Hawkins she bravely offers to be bait for Vecna. The anger we saw from her earlier in the season, is met with a heartbreaking acceptance as she realizes that Vecna was right. 

The confession makes her fate at the end of the season all the more heartbreaking when you realize that her guilt was a part of why she volunteered to be bait. We don’t know what Max’s ultimate fate will be going into the fifth and final season, but after seeing her character grow through Season 4 we’re pulling for her.

6. Galadriel (Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power)

Galadriel is an iconic figure in The Lord of the Rings, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 introduced us to a younger version of her hell-bent on avenging her brother and killing Sauron. So much so, that as viewers, it made it hard to imagine why she would take one of the rings of power.

Much of Galadriel’s arc focused on building an army to take out Sauron to the point where she was serving young-adult heroine for much of the series. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 Episode 8, “Alloyed,” shows us the moment when the switch flips and she meets Sauron face-to-face. 

Now that she has a connection to the enemy and a grounding drive, she’ll be a force to be reckoned with.  

7. Reginald Andres (Reginald the Vampire)

If you needed an anti-hero for a vampire series, look no further than Reginald Andres.

Reginald the Vampire is a story about a vampire whose looks stand out in the vampire community. Throughout the first season’s ten-episode order, Reginald goes from wanting his life to change to becoming the kind of person he despises and back again.

Along the way, he learns to embrace what makes him unique, his brain and his kindness. While the season ends with Reginald having to accept the consequences of his problematic behavior, he also makes it known that he both wants to change himself and the vampire community.

8. Victor Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy)

Victor Hargreeves hasn’t had the easiest time at The Umbrella Academy.

The third season picked up just after The Umbrella Academy Season 2 left off, and with it came the weight of losing Sissy. However, after watching Victor spend two seasons trying to fit in, it’s refreshing to see him come into his own and find his identity.

Victor’s transition is accepted by his siblings and finding that sense of belonging shifts the tone of their relationship. While Victor continues to experience loss and betrayal, particularly from Allison, the central conflict of his arc is no longer where he fits within his family. 

9. Wednesday Addams (Wednesday)

Netflix’s Wednesday presented viewers with a new incarnation of an iconic character who has to stop a killing spree at her new school while she hones her psychic powers. This version of Wednesday shines because it takes a character that so desperately hates humanity and puts her in situations that give her a greater tolerance for the human condition.

Throughout the series, Wednesday is an outcast among outcasts, defying the social expectations of both normies and outcasts and embracing her individuality. While the murder mystery drives the story forward, Wednesday is the heart of the series with her characteristic snark, macabre attitude, and complete lack of subtly that fans of the classic series will recognize well. 

10. Nadia Vulvokov (Russian Doll)

Nadia Vulvokov is back on Russian Doll Season 2, and this time she’s getting a whirlwind tour of her family history. There’s always some comedy in time travel, especially when it’s the protagonist’s own grandparents. As Nadia slowly inhabits her mother and grandmother, she approaches it with the same snark that we originally met in Season 1. 

Throughout the second season, Nadia is no longer the trapped victim forced to live days over and over, but the possible savior and director of her own life. She realizes she has an opportunity and wants to use to it to make everything alright. She indulges in a relatable nostalgia about her past, unpacking and unfolding different parts in front of the viewer. 

It’s an interesting introspection across matrilineal lines that dives deep into what makes us who we are. 

11. Kristen Bouchard (Evil)

In Evil Season 3, Kristen becomes the anti-hero of the story. Originally introduced as a Scully-like character, Kristen has killed someone, cheated on her husband, and now has to deal with finally finding her missing egg implanted in a surrogate by her nemesis. 

And that’s just the start. Kristen is in love with a priest, has a daughter who is groomed to be placed on the throne of the underworld, a mother wrapped in Leland’s crosshairs, and a haunted house undergoing renovations.

Kristen is reckoning with the evil outside of herself and the evil that she may be unintentionally caught up in. Kristen’s arcs surrounding her house and her daughter Lexis walk a line of cognitive dissonance as she slowly puts the pieces together right in front of her. All the while, she continues to do what’s best for her family. 

12. Gabriel (The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself)

The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself debuted on Netflix without much fanfare, but the arrival of Gabriel is one we need to celebrate.

Emilien Vekemans’ skilled alchemist is recruited to help Nathan survive the brewing war between Blood and Fairborn witches. However, his arrival in a silk robe instantly transforms this YA fantasy into something decidedly more mature and sexually exciting.

Gabriel’s slicing French bluntness, striking platinum hair, and unapologetic lust are an explosive grenade of sexual tension. His commanding presence and physicality consume the story as he ignites the chemistry between the core trio and sets up the potential for a compelling polyamorous relationship.

The character’s later struggles to regain his memory from the grips of his abuser is an equally moving part of that trajectory.

2022 didn’t necessarily need another teen witch drama. However, The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself’s bisexual nature begs to differ, delivering a power struggle that comes second to Gabriel and this blood-splattered trio of passionate witches.

13. Captain Pike (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds)

Grounded in the hopeful principles of Gene Rodenberry’s vision for a better tomorrow, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds does what Star Trek has always done best: remind us of the best possibilities of humanity and the great things we’re capable of when we embrace our better angels.

And nowhere is that more evident than in the Enterprise’s captain, Christopher Pike, a man who knows his irrevocable fate is to die horribly, but who never stops fighting the good fight in the meantime.

And, more importantly, he refuses to let that foreknowledge make him hard or afraid. Instead, it just seems to make him more of what he already was, to begin with — kind, optimistic, empathetic, and full of a genuine belief that a better world is possible. We could all use more leaders like Captain Pike, on TV and in the real world

14. Helly (Severence)

In an age where workers are seeking work/life balance, Severance was ready to strike a cord. Taking us through the inner working of the Lumon corporation through the eyes of Helly, the series showed viewers what an extreme regulation of work/life balance might look like.

Against the background of Senate hearings and mundane office drama, Helly moves through the world unaware of her personal life while at work and her work life while at home. 

Britt Lower’s performance on Severance Season 1 is stunning, making this character an absolute standout. But the reveal of Helly’s outer life is what sent the performance over the top and makes this character especially memorable.

15. Beatrix (Fate: The Winx Saga)

Who doesn’t love a morally gray character? Fate: The Winx Saga Season 2 brought us back to Alfea with a plot to steal fairy magic and put Beatrix right in the middle of it. After all, Beatrix will do anything she needs to survive. 

However, Season 2 featured Beatrix befriending Stella and putting others’ needs before her own, mostly when it suited her. But hey, the show has proven time and time again that no one will look out for her if she doesn’t do it herself.

When everything is on the line, Beatrix is the one who did what needed to be done in order to save the world when Bloom wouldn’t. Beatrix is a hero who deserves the world.

16. Louis (Interview with a Vampire)

While Louis’s character has some key differences from the version depicted in Anne Rice’s source material, those changes also present a more compelling narrative.

Race plays a role in making his character more complex, and his relationship with Lestat is much more intense, with the romance between them being much more obvious right from the start. That also shapes Louis’ identity, along with the distance he begins to create between his family.

Then in the present time, Louis is revisiting his interview with Daniel Molloy in Dubai, now re-telling his story in a presumably more honest way. This version of Louis is one who has clearly evolved quite a bit over the years, and it’s fun to see how he interacts with a much older Daniel Molloy.

Jacob Anderson portrays all of this with incredible skill, capturing the spirit of the iconic character of Louis De Point Du Lac.

17. Claudette Williams (4400)

Throughout 4400 Season 1, Claudette slowly came into her own. The former wife of a Black Panther organizer, Claudette slowly gains her independence and will do anything to keep it. Her journey into leadership, self-empowerment, and defense is one of the most compelling arcs of the series. 

Where her story really takes a turn is when she finds Millie, a fellow 4400, on the run, and convinces her to help her reshape the 4400’s narrative. She starts putting Millie’s face on posters that say Embrace Your Power and create a narrative of empowerment is exactly what the series needed as it continued to explore the line of hatred. 

Not to mention, Claudette’s cellular regeneration power, gave her the chance to give the audience a little comedic humor as the hotel was under siege. 

18. Sara Lance (Legends of Tomorrow)

Sara Lance has come a long way since her original appearance on Arrow. When she was introduced, she was depicted as the selfish, careless younger sister, who over ten years on television became a fighter who cares about her team, a capable fighter, and a compassionate leader.

She continues to have those moments on Legends of Tomorrow Season 7, but nothing encapsulates her character growth more than the reveal of her pregnancy in the final episode. Sara is simultaneously excited that thanks to alien DNA, she and Ava can have a child of their own, and afraid due to the nature of their work.

Whatever comes their way, she knows that they can face it together. 

19. The Deep (The Boys)

Did you have a superhero choosing an octopus over his wife on your 2023 bingo card? Cos I didn’t.

While The Boys Season 3 presents The Deep’s storyline as a redemption arc in the beginning it quickly becomes a redemption arc gone wrong. While The Deep might be back in the Seven, he is now living in fear of Homelander while still under the thumb of The Church of the Collective. 

It’s the very definition of being between a rock and a hard place, and the series utilizes that hindered comeback and the multiple pressure sources to tell a captivating story. 

20. Sarah Alder (Motherland: Fort Salem)

In the sci-fi genre, many characters come back from the dead, but few do so as effectively as Sarah Alder. After she was brought into the mycelium at the end of Motherland: Fort Salem Season 2 Episode 10, “Revolution Part 1,” it wasn’t quite clear what was to become of her. 

On Motherland: Fort Salem Season 3, Sarah Alder went from the military commander to a witch with a higher purpose. Watching her slowly put together the pieces of the first song while maintaining the safety of The Belleweather Unit is compelling to watch. 

Looking at Sarah’s arc for Motherland: Fort Salem Season 3, nothing has really changed except her circumstances, but instead of scheming, she moves the puzzle pieces into the right place to make sure that they get where they need to go. 

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What was your favorite sci-fi/fantasy show from 2022? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. 

*Additional contributions by Allison Nichols, Ashley Bissette Sumerel, Alicia Gilstorf, Lacy Baugher, and Melody McCune.

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